TikTok: shaped for propaganda, built for misinformation

24 April 2022 (Rome, Italy) – TikTok has some unique characteristics. Mostly they enable lighthearted fun.

Other times they can lead to the spread of dangerous falsehoods. Fast Company warns in “On Ukrainian War TikTok, Even Experts Struggle to Distinguish Truth from Hoaxes”.

But surely smart software can do the work, right? If only. The article cites a new report from Harvard’s Shorenstein Center that details the reasons TikTok makes such a good a misinformation superspreader.

The researchers began documenting Ukraine-related TikToks the day Russia invaded (February 24) and, by March 9, clocked more than 26.8 billion views of content tagged #ukraine.

That might be a good thing if all the posts could be trusted. But built-in tools encourage users to manipulate their videos, including the addition of repurposed audio. Not only that, but it is very difficult to track the original source of either video or audio and posters are practically anonymous. And though TikTok has cut off users based in Russia, pro-Russian groups from outside the country are still active on the platform. One can even find propaganda direct from the accounts of Russian state-controlled media like RT. Reporter Mark Sullivan points out what makes this problem so dangerous:

“The reason this is all so worrisome is not that misleading TikToks often get wide exposure. But because both misinformation (in which users unwittingly publish falsehoods) and disinformation (in which operatives post falsehoods to manipulate public opinion) make it hard for the public to differentiate between true and legitimate and false and misleading narratives about an event, such as an invasion. As the weeks go by, people grow tired of trying to dismiss the lies and find the truth. Exhausted and confused, they become politically neutralized. Propagandists don’t have to prove a point or win over majorities, they simply have to spread a critical mass of doubt. As the researchers put it: ‘[T]hese videos continue to go viral on TikTok, raking in millions of views. This results in a ‘muddying of the waters,’ meaning it creates a digital atmosphere in which it is difficult—even for seasoned journalists and researchers—to discern truth from rumor, parody, and fabrication.’”

The piece notes Facebook is also facing an Ukraine-related kerfuffle. It seems the Zuck thought it wise to allow users in Ukraine to post death threats against Russian soldiers. While we understand the impulse, it does not seem like a good business decision.

Unsurprisingly, Russia has labeled Facebook’s now-parent company Meta an “extremist organization” in response. Certainly the propagandists on TikTok and elsewhere must be enjoying that little morsel.